1. Field of the Invention
My invention relates to fishing equipment, and more particularly to fish hook setting devices for automatically embedding or setting fish hooks in the mouths of fish.
2. Prior Art Statement
(The following prior art statement is submitted pursuant to 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. The required patent copies are submitted herewith.)
It is well-known to the sport fisherman that ideally he must keep constant surveillance on his fishing line so that when a fish nibbles at the bait he can jerk upwardly on the fishing pole to embed the fish hook in the mouth of the fish. This need for constant surveillance can be inconvenient to the sport fisherman, since it limits the number of fishing lines that he can tend, and limits the amount of distraction that he can tolerate. In some instances, this requirement for constant surveillance can cause physical discomfort to the fisherman, as in ice fishing.
Various devices have been provided for automatically setting fish hooks to relieve the fisherman from said requirement for constant surveillance. In general, these prior art devices have been cumbersome, complex, or difficult to maintain. Some of these devices are expensive to manufacture because, they involve the use of elongated coil springs, which cannot be fabricated from conventional spring materials but rather must be fabricated from corrosion-resistant materials in order to withstand the effects of water and other elements of the typical fishing environment.
One of these prior art devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,590,721, which was issued to Charles H. Muth on Mar. 25, 1952. The elongated coil spring of the device of the Muth patent, indicated by the reference numeral 16, is shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Muth patent.
Another prior art device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,746,197, issued to Harlan N. Rogers on May 22, 1956. The coil spring 32 of the fish hook setting device of the Rogers patent is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 thereof.
Other U.S. patents relating to fish hook setting devices which have come to my attention are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,852,905; 3,787,994; 2,850,831; 2,658,299; 2,567,340; 2,578,887; 2,841,912; 3,015,181; 2,899,768; 3,889,413; 2,887,812; 2,913,845; 2,657,493; 2,659,174; 2,906,049; 3,874,106; and 2,640,290. By referring to these other patents by number only, rather than discussing them at greater length and supplying copies thereof as in the case of the Muth and Rogers patents, I do not mean to imply that any of these other patents might not be considered by someone to be more pertinent to my invention than either the Muth patent or the Rogers patent.